So far, the NHL hasn’t had a worst-case scenario with head shots. Eric Lindros played the game like a bull, a style that played a large part in his concussion troubles. But for the most part, it has been players like Adam Deadmarsh, Jason Allison, Matthew Lombardi, and Tim Connolly that have had concussions impact their careers. No Crosbys. No Sedins. No Joe Thorntons.
“They see Patty Eaves and they just take notice,” Spezza said. “I think they’re waiting for it to happen to Jarome Iginla, Sidney Crosby, or someone real important. They’ve got to fix it now.”

NBC earned a 1.4 overnight rating (percentage of households tuned in) for its Flames-Red Wings telecast on Sunday, down 6.7 per cent from its rating a year ago for a regional broadcast. NBC’s Saturday regional telecast, Penguins-Senators and New York Rangers-Atlanta Thrashers, earned a 1.2 overnight, down 7.7 per cent.

What did Pavel Datsyuk do to deserve Don Cherry’s attack on Saturday? Well, nothing, really, except for being a European, leading his team in scoring and signing a fat seven-year contract extension for close to $7-million (U.S.) annually.
To assist Cherry in his cheap shot of Datsyuk, Hockey Night compiled a couple of clips of retired Red Wings star Steve Yzerman falling to the ice to block shots.

Miller took two hard shots off his mask, summoning medical attention right after each.
“It was just a matter of not being able to get the hell out of the way. I was just stuck,” Miller said. “You either take it off the head or surrender a goal. I couldn’t get my glove around on either of them….
“Obviously, I think they were shooting at his head,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said with a smile before making a theatrical throat clear. “They hit him twice, so they must be shooting at his head. There are times you shoot at a goaltender’s head, try to rattle him. I thought maybe after two in a row . . . ”

“The intensity’s there, but it’s not there for 60 minutes, and that’s when we run into trouble,” said veteran forward Mark Recchi, who won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes last season. “We lose our focus for short periods of time, get it back and lose it again. That’s not how you win games in the playoffs.”
The Penguins have had a particularly great amount of trouble in the second period.
In the three games, they’ve been outscored, 6-1, in the second period and outshot, 44-18.
None of the players asked yesterday seemed to know why the middle period has caused them so much trouble.

No idea where the Wings got the idea but their playoff marketing push encourages fans to wear red to home games. “Who is the marketing genius that came up with ‘Join the Red Wave’ yet they hand out white towels?” laughed Detroit’s resident comedian and all-round good guy Chris Osgood…

Only, in his case, it’s on purpose. The wily blueliner has perfected the bank shot off the end boards.
“More and more guys do it because guys have gotten so good at blocking shots,” said Schneider, who pinballed a couple of pucks into the slot Sunday afternoon that Minnesota Fats would have appreciated.
“It’s really hard to get shots through, especially five on five.
“So you are looking for ways to create havoc in front of the net and that’s one of the ways that’s developed over the last couple of years.”

More important, the three have fit easily into a locker room full of professionals.
“As a player, when you’re shown that confidence from the coaching staff and the organization, you obviously feel good about yourself,” Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer said. “At the same time, when given that opportunity, you have to go out and earn it and make the best of it. They’ve continued to work hard during the whole time.”
Now Penner, Getzlaf and Perry are out to bridge the gap between potential and performance.
“This is exactly what we want,” Getzlaf said. “The playoffs are a pretty big opportunity for everybody to kind of showcase themselves. If you can play well in the playoffs, you can go a long way in this league.”

Earlier this season, the cookies became part of every Ducks’ road-meal spread. Lichtenfels got an earful from the players when the snack was absent at one stop — “a moment I never imagined would be a part of my job description when I was taking my finals in public relations and advertising at Penn State,” he said.
Lichtenfels is a charter bus and jet plane dispatcher, a travel agent, a hotel concierge, a baggage handler, a public-relations coordinator, a butler, a gofer and even the guy who calls last-stop hotels back to retrieve the cell phone chargers players always seem to leave behind.

Stars forward Mike Ribeiro participated in practice Monday, thus answering a big question after Game 3.
Yes, he is still on the team.
He just has been a no-show in this playoff series. And he hasn’t been alone in his disappearing act. Many of the Stars’ big-name, big-talent players have been reported missing against Vancouver—Ribeiro, Mike Modano on down.